


Growing Pains

by blakefancier



Series: Young Lovers [54]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 16:09:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5423462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blakefancier/pseuds/blakefancier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve woke up to aching joints and a low-grade fever. He let out an exasperated sigh—he'd just gotten the boot off a few days ago and now he had to deal with this? School started back up next week and the thought of having to miss out because he was sick left him feeling anxious and unsettled.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Steve's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve eats his weight in food and waits for his mom to come home from work.

Steve woke up to aching joints and a low-grade fever. He let out an exasperated sigh—he'd just gotten the boot off a few days ago and now he had to deal with this? School started back up next week and the thought of having to miss out because he was sick left him feeling anxious and unsettled. 

He climbed out of bed, ran his fingers through his hair, and stumbled towards the kitchen. The smell of bacon lingered in the air and his stomach growled; he was almost ravenously hungry. A stack of pancakes sat on the kitchen table, along with the bacon he'd smelled, and his mouth watered.

He poured himself a tall glass of milk, then sat at the table eating quickly. But even that wasn't enough to assuage the grumblings of his stomach—he had to eat two ham sandwiches before his stomach stopped making unhappy noises. Then the aches got worse and he crawled back into bed to wait them out. 

About lunchtime, the pain got so bad he considered calling Sarah, but he knew she'd come straight home and they needed the money. They were behind on the gas bill and Sarah was trying to put away money for all the things he'd need for college. He wanted to tell her that Howard would gladly buy everything, but… but he knew she wanted to do that for him, that it would make her happy to do that for him. And he wanted her to be happy. 

Besides, he'd dealt with worse than this—it wasn't going to kill him or anything. He could wait until she got home.

He tried sleeping again, but the aches kept him awake, so he curled up on the couch and watched a few DVDs. It was miserable; shivering and sweating and so unbearably hungry that he actually considered eating a few sticks of butter. He didn't, but only because he found a stash of Sarah's holiday candy. 

When Sarah came into the apartment a little after two, she seemed cheerful. "Hey, sweetheart. How was your day?"

Steve swallowed hard and said softly, "I don't feel so good."

Her cheerfulness was immediately replaced by a frown and she hurried over to the couch, sitting next to him. She put her hand against his forehead. "You're burning up."

"I'm sorry." Steve leaned into Sarah and shuddered in relief when she held him close. "Mom, I'm so sorry."

"Oh baby, why are you sorry?" She stroked his hair.

"You work so hard and… And I thought I was over this." Steve buried his face against her shoulder. "School starts up next week, Mom. I don't wanna miss school." 

"I know, baby, I know. But we'll deal with it, okay?" Sarah kissed the top of his head. "Put your shoes on while I call SHIELD." 

"Okay, Mom. I'm going to call Howard and tell him what's going on."

Sarah sighed, but didn't argue with him; Steve took that as a good sign.


	2. Howard's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Howard is there for Steve in his time of need.

"Every time we meet with that guy, I feel like I should take a shower," Howard said with a grimace. He rolled his shoulders to ease some of the tension and winced. He should put on his arm sling, but he remembered his father's admonishments about not showing weakness. 

"I don't think anyone's a fan of old Thunderbolt." Obi snorted. "I heard his daughter begged to go off to private school. And she's only five." 

Howard snickered and took his cell phone out of his jacket pocket; he'd felt it vibrate during their teleconference. He grinned when he saw that he had a voicemail from Steve. 

"Oh, I know that look," Obi said slyly. "Howard Stark in love." 

"Shut up." He threw a paperclip at Obi, who laughed and ducked. 

"Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me it's not tall, broad, and blond." 

"Get out," Howard said, throwing a few more paperclips until Obi made a strategic retreat out the door, laughing the whole damn way. He leaned back in his chair, taking the weight off his shoulder, and pulled up the voicemail. 

"Hey," Steve's voice said, soft and a little hesitant. "I just wanted to let you know that me and mom are headed to SHIELD. I'm not feeling too great and we think—"

Blind panic washed over him and he didn't hear the rest of the message. Instead, he grabbed his coat, and as he headed out, he told his secretary to cancel his meetings for the rest of the day and have his car ready. 

It wasn't until he was halfway to SHIELD that the terror that had brought a cold sweat to his body and tightened his chest had subsided enough that he could think. Steve had called him and hadn't sounded in distress, and the SHIELD doctors had been waiting for another increase in Steve's metabolic rate. Steve had *called* him, so he needed to calm the fuck down. 

Steve was fine. And possibly Howard should try to track down the old couple he'd cussed out for crossing the street too slow and apologize. That fucking bike messenger got what he deserved, though. 

It wasn't until he got to the SHIELD hospital that he had another… revelation. Last time Steve had been sick, things had not gone well. What if Sarah didn’t let him see Steve? What if the staff kicked him out? What—

No, no, It didn't matter. He still had to try. For Steve. 

He pulled himself together and walked into the building. The young woman at the admitting desk smiled cheerfully at him at him; she could probably kill him twenty different ways with her bare hands.

"Mr. Stark, you're early."

Howard blinked. "I… I'm sorry?"

She pulled out a visitor's badge and handed it to him. "I was told to expect you. Rogers is in room 433, through that corridor." 

"Uh, thank you." He hung the badge on his lapel because if he didn't, he would be stopped—SHIELD took security very seriously—then headed in the direction she'd pointed. 

A few moments later, he was standing in the doorway to Steve's room. Steve was in bed, typing furiously on his phone, looking flushed, but well. The relief Howard felt was overwhelming and he had to take a few steady breaths before moving across the room.

Steve looked up, startled, then smiled brightly. "Howard! What are you doing here?" 

He sat on the bed and reached out with trembling hands to cup his face; he hoped Steve didn't notice. Thankfully, his voice was strong and clear, "What? You didn't think I was going to come visit you?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, of course you were going to come, but I didn't think I'd see you until after work." Steve gripped Howard's hands, a little frown on his face. "I'm okay. Really, I am. No seizures this time." 

"I was a little concerned," he said softly.

"Yeah, me, too. But the doctors said that everything is well within their expected ranges."

"What's with the IV?" 

"I'm a little dehydrated and my blood sugar's low." Steve shrugged. "And my joints are aching pretty badly."

"Well, your body's working overtime, making muscle and bone. Who knows how tall you'll be once this is all over." Howard offered Steve a reassuring smile, but Steve's answering smile was half-hearted at best. "Where's your mom?"

"Probably terrorizing the doctors," Steve said. "You got here just in time. They're bringing me a couple of pizzas. I haven't been able to stop eating since I woke up this morning. You can have a slice if you want."

Howard ignored the flutter of fear Steve's words created. "I'm all right, I had a big lunch. Besides, you're going to need all the food they can shovel into your mouth." 

"Yeah, I guess so." Steve shifted. "It wouldn’t be so bad if I could have pain medication. But the doctors said after I eat, I could spend some time in the hot tub. You can come with me."

"I don't think that'd be a good idea, babe." Howard laughed softly. "But that'll give me some time to confer with your doctors." 

"Maybe next time." Steve squeezed his hands. "I'm really glad you're here, Howard. It makes being in the hospital more bearable." 

"I'll move my schedule around, see if I can free up more time to be with you. How does that sound?" He really couldn’t afford to, but what the hell, right? He was the boss.

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah." He ran his hand through Steve's hair and smiled.

"Okay." Steve settled back against the bed, shifting minutely, then his eyes lit up. "Mom, look what the cat dragged in." 

Howard looked over his shoulder at the door, where Sarah stood. "Hi, Sarah."

"Howard." She sounded tired and strained. "Do you mind if I talk to you in the hall, please."

"Sure," he said, before Steve could protest. "We'll be right back, pal." Then he rose and followed Sarah out. He braced himself for a fight. "Is everything all right?"

"I want you to take a look at his vitals. I want you to make sure—" Sarah broke off and took a deep breath. "I want you to make sure that his levels are all right. I looked but… but this is beyond me. If someone had come in with Steve's numbers, I don't know what we would have done."

"Of course." Howard reached out and touched her shoulder; a moment later, she was in his arms, her face pressed against his chest as she cried softly. "Hey, hey, it's okay. Sarah, he's going to be okay."

"I'm just afraid they're not telling me everything." She clutched his shirt, her tears soaking into the fabric. "I might not like you, but I know you have Steve's best interest at heart. I know you won't lie to me if something's wrong."

Howard stroked her hair and let her cry. "You're right, I won't. I'll take a look at his chart and talk to the doctors when he goes down to the hot tub. But I'm sure he's fine, Sarah. I'm sure of it." 

Sarah sniffled, took a step back, and wiped her blotchy face with the handkerchief he offered her. "I should splash some water on my face."

"Yeah, yeah, you should. I'll tell Steve you went to get some coffee." 

She nodded and bit her lip. "Thank you."

"I'll do everything in my power to keep safe," he said, and then headed back into the room. 

"Is everything all right?" Steve asked, frowning.

Howard returned to his spot on the bed and kissed the corner of Steve's mouth. "Everything's fine, babe. Your mom just needs a second to come down from all the worry and adrenaline. She went to get some coffee."

"Okay. I hope they bring those pizzas soon. My stomach's been growling nonstop since I got here." 

"You'll survive," he said, ignoring the fear that gnawed at him. 

***** 

While Steve was soaking away his aches in the hot tub, Howard looked over his files and talked to his doctors. Everything confirmed that Steve would recover in record time.

He only wished that made him feel better. 

***** 

Howard paused just outside Steve's hospital room, setting down the pastry box so that he could run his hands through his hair and adjust the green cashmere sweater he was wearing. When he was sure everything was in order, he grabbed the box and headed inside. 

"Hey," Steve said, looking up from his cell phone and smiling. His smile brightened further. "You're wearing the sweater I got you for Christmas. *And* you brought me donuts?"

"Something even better than donuts." Howard sat on the bed and handed over the box. He laughed when Steve opened it and offered up a happy exclamation. "Jarvis thought you might like some of his apple turnovers." 

"Thank him for me." Steve took a turnover from the box and bit into it, moaning in pleasure. "You want one?"

"Nah, I've got plenty at home. These are yours." Howard watched, slightly aroused; Steve made all these lovely sounds as he ate.

Steve had just finished his third turnover when he spoke, "I'm glad you're wearing the sweater. I wasn't sure you'd like you. It's not really your style or color or… I know you don't usually shop at Macys." 

"Are you kidding me? I love this sweater," Howard said. "Do you know how many compliments I've received since I put this on?"

Steve looked down and gave a small smile. "In the parking lot?"

"In—" Howard was ready to lie, but he realized Steve wouldn't believe it. "It's a great sweater."

"Thank you for wearing it." Steve leaned in and gave him an apple-flavored kiss. "You don't know how happy it makes me to see you in it." 

"I don't deserve you, you know that? You're letting me off too easy." 

"I love you," Steve said, as if that explained everything.

Howard smiled and stroked. "I love you, too. Which is why I'm willing to screw up my back sleeping in that chair tonight." He and Sarah had made up a schedule so that Steve wouldn't be alone overnight. She had to work the late shift, so he was up. 

"If we sleep on our sides, we can both be on the bed." 

He was glad that Steve wasn't trying to argue the point anymore. "That sounds good. Why don’t we watch a movie until dinner time?" 

"Little Mermaid?" Steve asked.

Howard checked a sigh and nodded.

***** 

Steve's phone kept buzzing throughout the movie and dinner—which was some sort of high calorie monstrosity that Howard would regret eating later. 

"Is that Tony?" Howard asked, as the phone, once again, buzzed. 

"No." Steve gave the phone an angry frown. "It's Arnie. He's trying to annoy me into going to the prom."

"The prom?" Howard wasn't really expecting that, but it made sense. Steve was a senior and the prom was probably a few months away. "He asked you to the prom?"

"What? No! No, he's planning to ask Track Team Michael." Steve turned off the phone. "He wants me to go in on the limo. But I told him, I'm not going to the prom."

"You're not? Why?"

Steve crossed his arms over his chest and gave Howard a look.

"Just because I can't go to the prom with you, doesn't mean you shouldn't." Howard never thought he'd be having this conversation with a boyfriend. Not at this point in his life. "Steve, the prom is one of the few American rites of passage. You have to go. Besides, you love music and you love dancing. This is perfect."

"I won't be with you," he said softly. 

"You don't need me to have fun. Anyway, I had my prom." 

"You had a nice time?" Steve asked. 

"I did." Howard smiled. "I took Joanna Montgomery. We danced, we drank, and after a few hours I took her up to my hotel room. There was no virginity taking, but we had a nice time anyway. And now it's a story I can tell my boyfriend." 

Steve sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I'll think about it."

He wondered if it was because of the money; the prom wasn't exactly cheap. Maybe, and this was a weird idea, but maybe he'd ask Tony take Steve to the prom. If Howard remembered correctly, Tony had missed his, too.

"Let's watch The Maltese Falcon," Steve said. "It's a good late night movie." 

"Who doesn't love Bogie?" Howard grabbed the remote. 

***** 

_The room was dark, but Howard could make out the rows of hospital beds, hundreds of them, that stretched across the cavernous room. He wanted to turn around and run away but something compelled him forward, his footsteps echoing loudly. The noise disturbed the patients in the beds, the blankets slithering to ground to reveal their emaciated faces. The hunger in their eyes made Howard flinch and stumble back._

_The backs of his knees hit one of the beds, stirring the patient there._

_"Please, please, I'm so hungry," the patient said, moving restlessly, his thin dry hand gripping Howard's arm. "I'm starving. Please, I need food. "_

_Howard tried to pull away, but the patient's grip was too strong. "I'm sorry," he finally managed. "I can't… I can't help you. I don't have any food."_

_"Yes, you do," the patient replied and opened his mouth wide, too wide. His needle-like teeth gleamed and he brought Howard's arm closer._

_Howard wanted to pull away, but his body refused. He felt the prickle of its teeth against his forearm and he opened his mouth to scream._

_"So hungry," it rasped. "Starving."_ "

Howard woke with a quiet gasp, his heart pounding in his chest, Steve, a warm presence in his arms. He took a deep breath, then another, trying to shake off the nightmare, but the fear and horror clung to him. He slipped out of bed, murmuring reassurances when Steve grumbled. 

He stumbled out into the brightly lit corridor, pressed his back against the wall and slid down so that he was sitting on the floor. He covered his mouth with a shaking hand and fought back the urge to cry.

He wasn’t sure how long he had sat there, being ignored by the hospital staff, when Nick walked over and sat down next to him.

"I'm too old to be sitting on floors, Howard," Nick said and when Howard didn’t respond to the opening, he sighed. "Nightmare?"

"Yeah." Howard leaned his head back against the wall. "I keep dreaming about those poor boys. Some of them were only a few years older than Steve. And I know this isn't my fault, but… Do you have nightmares, Nick?"

"I try not to let my regrets get the better of me," Nick said. 

Howard took that as a yes. He closed his eyes and clenched his hand. "Tell me he's going to be okay."

"He's gonna be okay." Nick put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Go back to bed, Howard. Before that boy of yours comes looking for you." 

***** 

When Howard woke up the next morning, his eyes felt hot and gritty and his shoulder throbbed. He reached into his pajama pocket, turned off his phone alarm, and let out a soft grumble. He wasn't quite ready to get up and brave the trek down to the hospital commissary: the coffee always tasted burnt. 

So instead, he tightened his arm around Steve's waist, ignoring the pain that raced up his arm, and kissed Steve's shoulder. "You up, babe?"

"No," Steve said sleepily, laying his hand on Howard's and urging it under his shirt. Howard complied happily, feeling the warm, smooth skin of Steve's stomach. "Can I have five more minutes?"

"Nope. You've got a check-up in an hour and they're probably going to feed you beforehand. If you want a shower, you should probably hop to it." 

"I don’t want a shower," Steve said wiggling his ass back against Howard, who let out a choked laugh.

"You're not getting that, sorry. Not unless you have a condom on you." Howard slid his hand out from Steve's shirt and pinched his side. 

"No." Steve looked over his shoulder and pouted. 

"Aww, poor baby. Can't have sex in a hospital bed. Life is so hard." He leaned in and kissed Steve's lush mouth. "Go take a shower." 

"I will, I will." Steve worried at his bottom lip. "Are you going to stay the whole morning? You'll be here when I get back from my check-up?"

"I don't have anything until noon. I'm all yours until then."

"Okay." Steve smiled and wiggled back again, pulling a moan from Howard. Then he laughed and slipped out of bed, the asshole.

***** 

While Steve was out getting his vitals checked, Howard walked across the street to a little café, ordered himself a blueberry muffin and the biggest cup of coffee they had available. By the time he was done, it was time to head back. He got another coffee to go and a chocolate croissant for Steve.

Howard immediately noticed the change in Steve's demeanor as soon as he walked into the room. 

Steve was sitting on the bed, shoulders slumped, a frown on his lovely face. 

"Hey, why the long face, babe?" Howard sat next to him and passed over the bag containing the croissant; Steve didn't even look at it, he just set it down. "Did the doctors say something? Steve?"

"I grew two inches," Steve said softly. "And gained twenty pounds. And…" He hunched into himself even further and whispered, "My dick is half an inch longer."

Howard blinked rapidly. "Some people would pay a lot of cash for that." Wait. "Did the doctors measure your cock?" 

"No." Steve gave him a dirty look. "They said I'd probably grow another inch or two, that I'd probably gain more weight. What if…. What if I get too tall? Too big?"

"You're going to stop growing, I promise." He nudged Steve. "I'm not pretty enough to be Fay Wray." 

A smile graced Steve's lips, but it was gone just as quickly. "I liked the way I was."

Howard narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out what the hell was up with Steve, then it hit him. Fuck, he should have guessed. There were a lot of things going on with Steve's body, changes that were even more drastic than puberty. "It's a lot at once, isn't it?"

Steve nodded, but didn't look at him.

"It's probably even a little scary." Howard reached over and took Steve's hand. "It's going to be okay. I'm here, your mom's here, Tony will be here in a few days. Hell, I'm pretty sure that Nick is around here somewhere, watching and waiting. You're not alone." He wasn't much for psychiatry, but maybe he'd mention the idea to Nick about setting up Steve and Isaiah with a few sessions. 

"You don’t mind that I'm bigger than you?" 

"Mind? I'm looking forward to test-driving the bigger, broader you. If you think I haven't been fantasizing about you sprawled all over my bed with those shoulders of yours and that tiny waist and that, let's be honest here, absolutely fabulous ass, you are completely out of your mind."

Steve laughed and rubbed his nose. "What about my cock?"

"Oh, I've got some plans for your cock, too." Howard shifted so that he could draw Steve close and kiss him. "I love you. That's not gonna change because you're *taller* than me."

All the tension released from Steve's body and he wrapped his arms around Howard. "I love you so much. I love you more than anything."

"I know, I feel the same way. You know I do." He kissed Steve's temple. "Now eat your croissant, I can hear your stomach grumbling." 

"Yes, Mr. Stark," Steve said, grabbing the bag. He took out the croissant and took a bite. "These are good. Do you think you could buy a few more for me before you leave? Isaiah's visiting tomorrow and I think he'd like them."

"Sure, I can do that." Howard would buy the whole damn café for Steve if it would make him feel better.


	3. Steve's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Isaiah bond.

"Everyone thinks the worst part is the aching joints," Steve said, as he worked his way through the package of Oreo cookies. "But it's not." 

"It's the hunger." Isaiah was sprawled in the chair, his feet up on Steve's hospital bed. "No matter how much you eat, you're still hungry."

"Yeah." It reminded Steve of when he was a kid. Those lean years when his mom was going through the nursing program and sometimes the only thing they had to eat for dinner was a jar of peanut butter and a tiny package of oyster crackers.

"Hey, and don't forget the bursts of energy that you can't do anything about because you're in class or it's the middle of the night."

Or you knew that you'd run too fast and too long and people would wonder. Your parents would wonder and worry. "Sometimes I get really… horny, too. " Steve blushed hard.

Isaiah grinned. "That's kinda fun."

"Easy for you to say, Faith lives a couple of houses down. I gotta take the subway to Manhattan." And that was only if Howard wasn't at work.

"Maybe you should ask your boyfriend to make you a hovercar."

Steve threw an Oreo at Isaiah, who caught it and stuffed it in his mouth. "Whatever, you suck." 

Isaiah shrugged and swallowed the cookie. "But how are you doing, really, Steve?"

"I'm tired of this hospital, the doctors, the tests. All of it." Steve licked the crumbs off his fingers and set the cookies aside; they tasted better with milk. "I thought that once we got better we wouldn't have to do this anymore."

"Better than being dead," Isaiah pointed out, then grimaced. "But I get what you mean. I'm not looking forward to my next growth spurt either."

Steve let out a huff of frustration and shifted on the bed, trying to ignore the ache of his joints. He didn’t want to talk about this anymore so he changed the subject. "Hey, I know it's early, but have you heard anything from the colleges you applied to?"

"Nope, but Faith has. She got early admission to NYU." That meant that Isaiah would go there, if he got in, which he probably would. "What about you?"

"Nope. I'm hoping to hear from UCLA. If I get a good financial aid package, I might even be able to go."

"Yeah, right." Isaiah snorted. "Like Daddy Warbucks isn't going to foot the bill for your education."

"Are you calling me Little Orphan Annie?" Steve grabbed another cookie and threw it; this one bounced off Isaiah's forehead. Isaiah just snickered and Steve shook his head. "Seriously, though, thanks for coming by. And tell your parents I said thank you, too, for taking Mom to lunch. She's either been here or at work since Friday."

"They know how it is. She did the same for them plenty of times." Isaiah offered up a little smile. "You wanna play a video game?"

"Yeah!"


	4. Howard's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's never a good idea to have sex in a hospital bed.

Howard did not expect to be accosted when he walked into Steve's room, but he was. Well, all right, maybe accosted was a bit strong, but Steve had crowded him up against the wall, closing the door, and towered over him, looking eager and absolutely gorgeous. 

"Hi," Steve said, cupping his face and kissing him hard. 

Howard dropped the bag in his hand, gripped Steve's too tight shirt and leaned into the kiss, lips parting. Steve's tongue delved into his mouth and Howard groaned desperately. Then Steve began fumbling with the front of his trousers and no. No, they could not do that here. He pushed Steve back. "Hey, no, no."

Steve whined and ran his hands over Howard's chest, finding Howard's nipples and rubbed them. "I want your cock."

And fuck if that didn't stiffen him up. But, he reminded himself, hospital, surveillance cameras, *Sarah*. "Yes, but we don't have a condom. Unless you managed to bring one with you."

"No. That wasn't really a concern at the time." Steve sighed and took a step back; his cock was tenting the front of his borrowed sweatpants.

Howard wondered how big Steve was now. Fuck, he had to stop that. He grabbed the bag he'd dropped earlier and handed it to Steve, then he walked over and sat on the bed; Steve followed. "Provisions: video games and movies, art supplies, and a box of those raspberry truffles from that place you like. I couldn't find your music player though."

"Mom says it's not at home." Steve sat on the bed and pouted. 

"Oh, stop." He took out a box from his pocket and opened it up, showing Steve the wireless ear buds. "I've been working on my own version of an mp3 player. I downloaded your playlists onto them. Now we can take them off my laptop." There was nothing worse than opening up his laptop at work and having one of Steve's pop songs start playing. "Where's Sarah?"

Steve picked up the ear buds and began looking them over, then popped them into his ears. "Ms. Carter came by to visit and since you were coming by, they went to go get some coffee. How do I turn them on?"

"Tap once to turn on, tap twice to turn 'em off." He was still trying to figure out how to program more commands into them.

Steve tapped them, then frowned. "Um… I don't think this is my playlist and it's kinda loud." He took the buds out of his ears and handed them to Howard. "I mean, rap's fine. It’s just not my thing." 

"Rap?" Howard brought the bud do his ears—oh shit. He turned them off. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Steve smiled, then said, "Who do you know that listens to rap?" 

"Tony probably put it on my laptop as a joke," he said, rolling his eyes. He'd thought he'd moved all his playlists off his laptop.

"That song was kind of… explicit." Steve licked his lips and slipped his hand into his sweatpants to play with himself. 

They shouldn't. 

"Lie back and get under the covers," he said, watching with amusement as Steve eagerly obeyed him. He slid under the blankets making sure they covered him, then he pulled down Steve's sweatpants. "No underwear?"

"Mine are too small now, and I'm not borrow someone else's. Oh!" Steve bit off a moan as Howard nuzzled his way up Steve's cock. 

His shoulder gave a warning throb, but he ignored it. He gripped Steve's thighs and lapped at the head, tasting the bitterness of Steve's precome. When he felt Steve tremble, he began to sloppily suck and lick Steve's cock. He should make it quick, but it felt so good to lick up the shaft and tease right underneath the head until Steve arched up with a low groan. 

"Howard, oh, Howard." Steve gripped his hair and tugged, urging him to get on with it. 

So he did, swallowing it down until his nose was nestled against Steve's pubic hair. And fuck, Steve's cock *was* longer and thicker because Howard had to fight to rein in his gag reflex. He was just about to get started, when the door opened.

"Mom, Ms. Carter!" Steve patted his head frantically. "What are you doing back so soon?"

Howard swallowed around Steve's cock, which was a stupid thing to do if Steve's whimper was anything to go by. He tried to be quick about pulling off, but that just seemed to make the slick, wet sound of it even louder. He pulled Steve's sweatpants up and reconsidered his life choices. Maybe if he stayed under the covers, they'd go away. 

Steve grabbed at his shirt and tugged. "Howard." 

Okay, that wasn't an option. He poked his head out of the covers, ignoring Steve's red, horrified face, opened his mouth, and said. "I found it."

He was a genius, billionaire, scion of society. He was also a damn disappointment to himself. 

Sarah stared at him. “My son’s penis?” 

Howard’s face went hot and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Steve trying to smother himself with a pillow.

Peggy, who had been silent up until that point, cleared her throat. "Howard, could I have a word please?" She gestured to the corridor.

He was a coward, he could admit to it, because he practically jumped out of the bed and ran out the door. 

She followed at a more sedate pace, but then *she* hadn't been caught with a dick in her mouth. As they walked down the corridor, Peggy handed him a handkerchief. "Wipe your face, Howard. My god, you're a mess." 

"Oh, god." He wiped frantically at his beard; this was why he hated them. 

Peggy chuckled and shook her head. "You found it? Really? Why didn't you just tell her you were giving Steve a mustache ride?" 

"Shut up, I panicked.” He stuffed the handkerchief in his pocket. 

"That was obvious." She stopped at the end of the corridor and leaned against the wall.

He gave a once over; she looked better than she had a few weeks ago. "Did you have something important to tell me or did you just want to make fun of me?"

"I just wanted to make fun of you. Besides, I thought it might be a better option than letting Sarah take my gun and shoot you." 

"Fuck." He rubbed his face and groaned. 

"It could be worse. At least you weren't fucking him." Peggy patted his arm. "She's heading off to work in twenty minutes; I agreed to drive her. So why don't you get some coffee, come back in a half hour." 

"Yeah," he said. That sounded like a good idea. 

When he got back to the room a half hour later, Steve was alone in the room, sitting on the bed, cell phone in his hands. "Coward."

"I'm not ashamed." Howard handed Steve a box of pastries and sprawled back on the bed. "Sarah was about ready to gut me like a fish."

"Oh, she wasn't that mad." Steve opened the box and hummed happily. "Though I did get another lecture on safe sex. You totally owe me."

"I bought you donuts."

"Uh-uh, not good enough." Steve raised his eyebrows and set the box aside.

"Oh, god, you're still horny." 

"I sure am." Steve gestured for Howard to come closer. "Stick the chair under the doorknob first."

"Yes, sir," he said. 

***** 

Howard didn't get out of the car, he just popped the trunk so that Tony could shove his luggage back there. When Tony climbed into the car, Howard said, "Where's your mom?"

"She decided to stay another week. Aunt Karen was going through another crisis." Tony rolled his eyes. "How come Jarvis didn't pick me up? You're not gonna tell me that you're sleeping with Rhodey, are you?"

"Ha ha, very funny." He waited until Tony had buckled his seatbelt then pulled out into traffic. "Jarvis was busy."

"Oh." Tony looked out the window. "I thought you'd be with Steve. He said they're releasing him from the hospital today."

"They are, but Sarah wanted to give him a day to settle in and he wanted time to catch up on his homework." Howard shrugged, ignoring the way his bad shoulder twinged with pain.

Tony hummed. "And you probably didn't want to get caught going down on Steve again."

Howard's face went red; of course Steve told him that. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"Uh huh. I bet you don't." Tony looked over and smiled brightly at him.

"Bring it up again and I swear I'm telling Steve about the robot incident.," Howard sid.

Tony gasped. "You wouldn't dare! You promised, Dad, You promised."

Howard just looked at him.

"Okay, fine, I won't bring it up again." He looked back out the window, pouting.

Howard didn't speak again until they were halfway home. "I need you to do something for me."

"Surprise, surprise," Tony muttered. "Yeah?"

"I need you to ask Steve to the prom." 

"You—" Tony laughed and scrubbed at his face. "Oh my god, why can't we ever have normal conversations? Why is it always, 'Tony, I want you to take my boyfriend to the prom.' Other kids don't have these sorts of conversations with their parents."

"Tony, calm down." Okay, it was a strange request, but it wasn't that strange.

"Hi, Tony, how was California? Did you have a nice time with your mom? Why thanks for asking, Dad. I had a great time with Mom."

"Tony!" Howard sighed. "I'll give you 24 hours with my black AMEX. Just nothing with a motor." Tony opened his mouth and Howard knew exactly what he was going to say. "And no, you can't buy a hot air balloon." 

"Mean." Tony crossed his arms over his chest and pouted for all of ten seconds. "Okay, fine. I'll ask Steve to the prom. Is that it?"

"No, while you have my credit card, I want you to take Steve clothes shopping. None of the clothes he has fits him anymore." Steve had to borrow clothes from SHIELD to go home in, even his shoes. And Howard knew that Sarah was having trouble paying the bills.

"I was gonna do that anyway," Tony said, which was a little surprising. But maybe it shouldn’t have been. Tony could be perceptive, when he wanted to be. 

"Yeah, well, don't buy him a car either." 

Tony let out a huff and rolled his eyes again. "Whatever."


End file.
